Roses
by midnyte-fox
Summary: This is a Hiei/Kurama fic. That means *yaoi*. Please read the disclaimers. Kurama goes a little insane, and Hiei has a soft side.


All the usual disclaimers apply. I do not own, nor do I lay any claim to, any characters in this fic, excepting only Kiyu. I created him. Any events in this fic are purely of my own twisted imagination.  
  
This is a yaoi fic, so if you have any discomfort with that, stop now. This also is a dark fic. Kurama and Hiei are... Not quite like they are usually portrayed. Kurama is rather unstable. Please do not flame me. Constructive criticism is good, though.  
  
This is my first post, though by no means my first fic. All questions or comments can be sent to midnyte_fox@yahoo.com . Read, respond, enjoy!  
  
~midnyte_fox  
  
* * * * *  
  
Roses   
  
Hiei sighed. His eyes followed the red-haired kitsune as he paced. Kurama's beautiful green eyes were cold and hard, and his face was expressionless.  
  
"When did you learn this?"  
  
Hiei flinched. Kurama's voice was like steel.  
  
"Not long ago. I came directly here." Hiei drew one leg up, resting his foot on the edge of the windowsill, where he perched. He glanced outside at the setting sun. The sky was the color of blood. For once, Hiei found it distasteful.  
  
The sound of a fist hitting the wall came from across the room. Hiei merely closed his eyes. He didn't bother to turn around; he knew what he would see. Kurama would be facing the wall, both hands bracing him against it. He would be caught halfway between tears and rage. He would be warring within himself, his youko side and ningen side both battling for domination. Years ago, his youko side would have won. More recently, Suuichi would have. Now. Hiei didn't know. Kurama had finally attained a balance between the two, but he fought within himself daily.  
  
Eventually, Kurama let out a long breath. Hiei turned back to him. Kurama's eyes were determined, but he had lost the harshness. At least for now.   
  
Kurama smiled ruefully. "One must continually fight, ne?"  
  
Hiei shrugged. "Hn."  
  
He saw a flash of pain in Kurama's eyes, but it was quickly and forcefully covered. Hiei cringed inwardly. He hated coming off as cold to Kurama. In truth, he wanted to take the kitsune in his arms and comfort him. But that would only make their bond deeper, and in turn, would make the kitsune even more wary than he already was. Kurama did not completely trust the fire demon, though he tried to hide it; one of the few signs of affection the Kitsune ever showed. So for now, Hiei would settle for being Kurama's lover. He couldn't let his feelings become too involved. Not now, and perhaps, not ever.  
  
Hiei crossed his arms over his chest. "So, what will we do, fox?"  
  
Kurama frowned. "Tell me again what you overheard."  
  
Hiei slid down from the windowsill. He stood, tense, under Kurama's gaze.  
  
"Kiyu has sent shadow demons to attach themselves to Yusuke, Kuwabara, Keiko, and your mother." Hiei watched as Kurama's eyes flashed cold again, and then returned to normal. "They will latch on to their spirit energy, and will slowly drain them. They are virtually undetectable, for they can blend in with a victim's shadow. They will slowly sicken, and, being unable to recover, will merely waste away." Hiei glanced upward, then returned to Kurama's eyes. "They couldn't get a single one to agree to latch on to either one of us." He smiled without humor.  
  
Kurama's eyes had gone cold again, and he blinked. "I guess our reputation precedes us."  
  
"Hn."  
  
"How can we detect them?"  
  
Hiei moved to sit on the windowsill again. "Hn. Find a place with no shadows?" His voice was sarcastic.  
  
Kurama nodded. "Is there anything we can do now?"  
  
Hiei shook his head. "Not until daylight."  
  
Kurama's eyes blazed, and then became normal again. In a purely conversational voice, he said, "I will kill them. And they will die slowly. Kiyu, most of all."  
  
A chill ran up Hiei's spine. Kurama's voice was deadly, and he had no doubt that the same fate would be assigned to anyone who tried to stop him, no matter who it was. He quickly decided to let the kitsune have his revenge. He would stay on the sidelines, and be there when Kurama had finished.  
  
Hiei stood again, and walked over to the fox, sliding his arms around Kurama's waist. He kissed him wordlessly, and when Kurama's eyes opened, Hiei thought they were a little more sane. The kitsune pulled him onto the bed, and they began, frantically to remove each other's shirts. As Kurama kissed him passionately, Hiei thought that it was a kiss born of desperation, a distraction from the kitsune's pain and rage. For whose sake it was happening, he couldn't tell.   
  
* * * * *   
  
When Hiei woke the next morning, he reached out to touch the kitsune instinctively. He sat up quickly when he discovered he was alone. Hiei quickly threw off the covers, and scrambled to put his clothes on. It was barely past dawn. Kurama must have gone without him to find Kiyu.  
  
As he pulled his boots on, he thought. Who exactly was Kiyu? Kurama had mentioned him before, but had never been forthcoming with the details. He'd just shrugged, said he was part of the past and had no bearing on the present. The kitsune's eyes had hardened, then, and he had said, "If he's wise, no bearing on the future, either."  
  
Hiei glanced at his scarf, then changed his mind. He would leave it. If nothing else, it would give him an excuse to come back later. Hiei opened the window, then flashed into the tree branch right outside. He closed it again before leaving, moving from tree to tree. He knew he wouldn't find the kitsune in town, so he headed out to the forests. Kurama would most likely be there. There were many places within the trees where one could go who didn't want to be found. But unlike most, Hiei could sense spirit energy, and so had no trouble.  
  
He found Kurama on the bank of a small stream. The kitsune sat on a rock, motionless. His eyes were closed, Hiei could see in profile. He watched Kurama for nearly an hour, before the kitsune spoke.  
  
"You may as well come down. I know you've been sitting there."  
  
Hiei jumped to the ground, and walked to stand by the fox. "I never had any doubt." He looked down at the waterfall of red hair. "How long have you been out here?"  
  
Kurama picked up a stone from the ground, running his fingers over the smooth surface. It was decently sized, fitting snugly into the cup of his hand. "Since just after you fell asleep last night." He tossed the stone into the air and caught it again.  
  
"Shouldn't you have slept?"  
  
Kurama glanced up at the koorime from underneath long, dark lashes. "You can't be worried about me, can you, Hiei?"  
  
Hiei stepped to the waters edge, turning his back on the kitsune. Kurama's tone was mocking, and he sensed he was warring within himself again. Hiei schooled his features into boredom and annoyance.  
  
"I am merely concerned that your lack of rest will be a liability to me."  
  
Kurama laughed, a rich, cruelly beautiful sound. "And here I was worried that your feelings were going to be a liability to me."  
  
Hiei felt a sharp pain in his heart, but suppressed it. He turned, half expecting to see a silver youko rather than the boy Suuichi. But Kurama was unchanged, save the amused smirk he now wore.  
  
Hiei opened his mouth to deliver some biting comment, but the kitsune cut him off.  
  
"Don't bother to deny it, Hiei. I see the way you look at me, I feel it in your kiss, when you touch me. I sense it." He paused, laughed. "I can almost smell it." He stood, walking around the koorime. Hiei stood still, and when Kurama came back into view, he was no longer the red-haired boy Hiei was so used to.  
  
Kurama's youko form was achingly, cruelly beautiful. His silver hair reached halfway down his back, and Hiei had to stop himself from reaching out to touch it. Kurama walked away, to the water's edge. He glanced across the stream, and through the forest for some time before turning back to the koorime.  
  
"I know what you are thinking, Hiei. Do not make the mistake of thinking I need to be saved from myself before I do something drastic. And even if I did, don't be foolish enough to think that you could. You are powerful Hiei, but you are honorable. If it came down to it, you would hurt me to save me," the kitsune smiled, "but you could never kill me. Not even to save me. You couldn't do it."  
  
Hiei's face registered utter disbelief. He willed the kitsune to stop, to just leave, to do anything but say what he knew was next.  
  
Kurama smiled knowingly. "But that's how we differ, Hiei. While you would never kill me, I would have no qualms about doing the same to you."   
  
Hiei closed his eyes. He felt Kurama's presence move closer. One finger traced the line of his jaw, and the kitsune pulled him close for a crushing kiss.  
  
Hiei felt his blood race, and he pulled away violently, anger surging to the fore. "Baka kitsune. You are no more powerful than I. Only merciless."  
  
Kurama stepped back, laughing. He glanced into the air, and spoke to no one in particular.   
  
"And after everything I said, he still thinks he can save me from myself!" Kurama turned away, walking into the surrounding trees. "You, koorime, are the fool. I, at least, have not compromised my very being by giving into such ningen emotions as you have." Kurama faded into the forest.  
  
Hiei was about to turn and leave, when something came flying at him from the direction Kurama had gone. Hiei lifted his hand to catch it, but a sharp crack resounded around him, and the object crumbled, little green tendrils splitting it apart. Hiei watched as the rock Kurama had picked up fell at his feet.   
  
And in the middle of the shards bloomed a single rose, the color of blood.   
  
* * * * *   
  
Hiei kept to the trees above Kurama all day, as he made his way into the forest, where he knew Kiyu would be. He knew Kurama sensed him, but the kitsune had said his piece, and now saw Hiei as irrelevant.   
  
The kitsune walked for hours, never stopping, never letting on that he even noticed Hiei above him. Late in the afternoon, they reached a clearing. At the opposite side, a young man leaned against a tree, in the shadows.  
  
"I was wondering how long it would take you to come running out here, Kurama. And I see you have your little jaganshi with you." The voice was rich, richer even than Kurama's, and insidiously smooth.  
  
Kurama did not respond to the comments. "Why do you hide in the shadows, Kiyu? Do you fear me?"  
  
Kiyu laughed, and he stepped into the fading sunlight. Hiei's breath caught in his throat. Kiyu's eyes were a deep, captivating blue. His hair was jet black, and fell over one shoulder. His clothes were in shades of black and deep blue, and he wore no weapon. Kiyu was beautiful. He was slightly shorter than the kitsune, and slender, but he had a presence.  
  
"So, what'll it be, Kurama? Are you here to hurt me and make me call off my friends?" Kiyu laughed, and strode toward Kurama. He stopped barely a foot away, and reached up to touch Kurama's face.  
  
Thorny vines burst through the ground and wound around Kiyu's wrists, ankles, and throat. They tightened, piercing the skin.  
  
"Never think to touch me again," he hissed. The vines began to tighten. Kiyu struggled. It was obvious he was no match for Kurama.  
  
Hiei shuddered, and, cursing both the kitsune and himself, stepped into the clearing.  
  
"Kurama-"  
  
Vines burst through the ground at his feet, and encircled him. He was dragged backward against a tree. He was held there securely, and although the vines had no thorns, the one around his neck was just tight enough to hinder his breathing.  
  
"I told you to stay away, Hiei. Because you were good to me, I will not hurt you now. But if you try again, I will not restrain myself." Kurama faced the struggling shadow demon in front of him. Small rivulets of blood trickled from the many places his body was pierced.  
  
Hiei closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and yelled, "This isn't about Yusuke and your mother anymore, is it, Kurama? Why won't you tell me about him? What did he do to you?"  
  
Kurama paused. Slowly, he turned.   
  
"You want to know what he did to me, Hiei? Fine. I'll tell you. You were not my first lover Hiei, just like I was not yours. Kiyu was my first. We grew close. I was young, and I was weak. He lured me with promises of friendship and love. He was kind to me, he was the best thing that had ever happened to me. And I didn't know how very naïve I was. Pretty soon, I came to live with him. He gave me everything I wanted, while all the while taking from me everything I didn't know I had."  
  
Kurama turned back to the shadow demon. "Kiyu had attached himself to my spirit energy, and soon found out that it greatly increased when we made love. And I didn't know about the potential power. Therefore, I became his property. Slave, if you will. And all the while, I didn't know a thing. Then one day he tapped too deep, into the energy I did know I had. And suddenly it all fell into place. Why he wanted me so very much. Why most of the day was spent in his bed. Why he made me promise never to leave him. It all made sense. He didn't love me, he used me. And I realized how very foolish I was. I tried to run away, but he found me. He was far stronger than I was. I didn't stand a chance against him."   
  
Kurama turned back to the koorime. His voice was flat, dead.  
  
"He raped me, Hiei. Physically, spiritually, emotionally, every way he could. And he found out that pain produces far more energy than pleasure." He turned back to Kiyu. "Five years, I spent like that, in your bed. Five years of torture and pain. And then, I couldn't live with it anymore."   
  
Kiyu's eyes widened, and Kurama smiled. "Did I ever tell you why I use roses, Hiei? They were the first plant I learned to control. Kiyu always made sure I had flowers. One day, I snapped. I couldn't take anymore, and the first thing I laid eyes on was a rose. I wasn't good enough to kill him, but I managed to tie him up long enough to escape."  
  
Hiei's eyes widened.   
  
Kurama sighed. "I dream about it Hiei. It never leaves my thoughts." The youko disappeared, to be replaced with Kurama's human form. His attention was fully on Hiei now. The kitsune loosened the vines holding him to the tree. Kurama gestured, and Kiyu's face became pale. His breathing ceased.  
  
"I stopped his heart. It was quick, like you wanted." Kurama reached to remove the remaining vines that bound Hiei. "We can leave now." He walked into the trees.   
  
* * * * *   
  
Hiei followed Kurama home, but declined an invitation to come in.  
  
"I have to think," he told the kitsune, and he left.  
  
Hiei thought for three days, and when Botan delivered a note to him from Kurama, requesting to see him, he finally made up his mind.  
  
He was waiting on the windowsill when Suuichi came home from school.  
  
Kurama smiled when he saw the koorime. "All the shadow demons are gone. A- and you forgot your scarf." Kurama pointed to where it lay, folded, at the foot of his bed.  
  
"Hn." Hiei stood up, and crossed the room. He circled the kitsune warily. Kurama reached out to lay a hand on his shoulder, and Hiei pulled away. "Be careful, fox. Those ningen emotions are dangerous."  
  
Hiei watched as Kurama stepped back. His eyes closed, he turned away, and he sank down to the floor, against the wall. His body wracked with sobs. Hiei sighed. He would never learn how to talk to the kitsune without provoking him in one way or another. Fed up, he knelt down and pulled Kurama against him. After the tears ceased, Kurama looked up at the koorime and shivered at the look in his eyes. He started to pull away, but changed his mind. Instead, he pulled Hiei's face down to his, into the sweetest kiss he'd ever felt. He slid his hand around to the back of Hiei's neck and held him there for a long time. When Kurama ended the kiss, he whispered into Hiei's ear.  
  
"I love you..."  
  
Kurama's voice was so muted, so vulnerable, that Hiei wasn't sure he'd heard correctly. Kurama's mouth on his convinced him he had. He helped the kitsune up and led him to the bed. This time, Hiei thought, it wasn't out of desperation. 


End file.
